The Documerica traveling exhibit just landed in the Bates College library and will be on display through Tuesday. This nicely coincides with their ‘eco-service’ day tomorrow, Saturday, April 28.

Students, faculty, and staff, will hopefully be joined by community members in the call to grab their cameras and head out on an adventure to match up Documerica scenes along the Androscoggin River and around town. Let’s see what their cameras have to show for 40 years of change along a river that was a foaming, and severely polluted, inspiration for the 1972 Clean Water Act.

The closest match-ups will have an opportunity to be included in a larger exhibit planned for next spring. From March 8, 2013 – September 8, 2013, the U.S National Archives will be hosting an exhibition entitled: “Searching for the Seventies: The DOCUMERICA Photography Project” at the National Archives
Lawrence F. O’Brien Gallery, in Washington, DC.

The photographs will depict issues such as suburbanization, the early environmental movement, cultural diversity, changing gender roles, and the post-1960s youth culture. Visitors will compare and contrast original DOCUMERICA images with contemporary photographs submitted by Americans concerned with today’s environmental issues.

Can’t wait to get in on the action? Documerica covered all 50 U.S. states, as well as a few international locations. Search the full Documerica collection to find images near you.

When you follow the link, you’ll come to a search page like this. Simply type in your town or state to see images of the past. Enjoy, have fun, and we can’t wait to see your contributions to this historic project!

Editor's Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.

as we saw old the pollutants of the industries and plants in clear were mesnos pollutants that nowadays therefore the world-wide population this acting I believe who much late therefore the land this suffering much more that old with as many industries that they pour its chemical dejections and products in the rivers and the land therefore to imagine the land well and as the human body if you makes something of wrong with its body the organism does not go to accept and goes to thus reject or to adoecer and the land what this happening and that the homanidade not if encherga what this making with its proper terrestrial home. in the current system the pupils iram to find much more things missed with industries and deforestations. att. Carlos Oliveira